Attorney Alina Habba confirmed Tuesday that her lucrative corporate arrangement with the family of a pardoned Venezuelan magnate reflects standard industry pricing for the complex legal maneuver of sliding a piece of paper across the Resolute Desk.
Defending her recently disclosed business ties to the family of a pardoned Venezuelan banking executive, attorney Alina Habba stated Tuesday that her $50 million contract represents standard market compensation for the highly specialized legal work of asking President Donald Trump to let someone out of federal prison.
Julio Herrera Velutini, a prominent financier who had been seeking clemency for federal bribery charges, successfully obtained an executive pardon shortly after his daughter finalized an extraordinarily lucrative corporate arrangement with Habba. According to sources close to the White House counsel’s office, the eight-figure retainer covers the extensive procedural legwork required to circumvent the Justice Department's traditional review boards and simply hand a printed dossier to the president near a Mar-a-Lago dining patio.
The traditional pardon process involves years of bureaucratic friction, whereas Ms. Habba offers clients a streamlined, white-glove appellate service that concludes the moment the offshore wire transfer clears her escrow account.
White House spokespeople declined to comment on the specific timeline of the pardon, issuing only a brief statement that President Trump evaluated the Herrera Velutini case purely on its merits, which were reportedly outlined to him on a single laminated flashcard during a flight to Palm Beach.
At press time, the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney had quietly updated its official federal guidelines, advising incarcerated applicants without $50 million in liquid corporate assets to submit their paperwork through the traditional website portal and check back during the next administration.